He's Dedicated to Roses
by dotRHEA
Summary: She feared everything dangerous and had almost drowned in a sea of guilt. He pulled her out and she found herself again. She lost, she gained and she suffered. And even though she feared danger, she found the most comfort in what she feared most; masks.
1. Redemption

**I don't know about you guys but I rather liked episode 44 of BNV, can't wait for the next one to come out. But of course, I'm still mad about how they excluded Alice and placed Ace, Mira and Spectra in her place (this is how I see it anyways). She's hardly in these episodes too…**

**I am so sorry about Terror at Home. I promise you guys will enjoy this story though!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan/NV or any of its characters.**

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Alice lived a protected life, she was home schooled, had private lessons and lived in a mansion in the forests of Russia. She never had many friends to start with, because she was never allowed outside her grandfathers' sight. One of the many things her grandfather had told her when she was little was 'Don't talk to strangers', but how was that possible when you hardly see any strangers to start with?

That all changed when Alice turned fourteen, and had gone to visit her grandfather in his lab that faithful day.

"Hello grandfather." She politely said as Dr. Michael came towards her. "Is that a new experiment?"

The memories were like that nova; a flash of fear and amazement. Even today, Alice could still feel remnants of the negative energy emitted by that very same nova. She remembered how her vision was slightly tinted cobalt when she was him. The feeling of a mask strapped onto her face still reminiscent.

And the image of a still figure along a lonely meadow—Masquerade still burned behind her eyes.

Masquerade marked the starting point to which Alice's life was turned upside down and her protected life shattered to pieces. He was the one who started and ended it all—she was the one who wanted to continue her journey with him.

"I cannot help you; that destiny is yours alone." She remembered him telling her; his raspy voice strangely danced with the wind of a lonely meadow.

"No I can't. Not all by myself" she protested. "It's just that… I've only just started playing bakugan, I feel so inexperienced—it all seems too much for me…"

The faint remnants of teardrops trailed down her cheeks as she quivered at the memory.

"You will be alright… Don't you know? It's because I am you, Alice." The words seemed to flow beautifully out of her mouth and yet it seemed so distant without meaning to her.

Since then, Alice's heart, mind and soul became a puzzle--- incomplete with a missing piece. She so desperately wanted that one piece to complete her and yet she was so scared that nothing could fill that void.

By her fifteenth birthday, she had forgotten everything about the masked brawler. Her grandfather gave her more freedom; enrolling her into the nearest high school and allowing her to go to the nearest mall every time he was busy. During her freshmen year, she had made a lot of friends and even fell in love with a boy by the name of Roy. As time had it, Alice and Roy came to know each other more. Roy telling her that he used to brawl and after a long period of time; Alice finally came to tell him that she was actually the masked brawler. Roy still didn't leave her side upon hearing this and eventually the two had started dating.

But destiny wasn't ready for Alice to be swept off her feet and live happily ever after. Destiny was never ready for Alice.

Not too soon had summer break started did her 'prince charming' reveal himself as the sick twisted villain. That first week of summer, she was introduced to the more darker tones of life.

The true dangers that her grandfather so desperately wanted to keep her from.

She was introduced to drugs, alcohol and sex. She became addicted and often found herself not being able to find her way back home.

Reflecting back, that was what Alice feared the most…, falling too deeply into the cracks.

She was so glad she had consulted with Runo in person before her grandfather found out. She was so glad that she had now ended it between that sick psycho before it got worst. She was so relieved.

By the time she returned back to high school did she realize that there was more her grandfather wanted to protect her from—that made Masquerade's leave resurface and become a big impact on her life once again. When Alice returned as a sophomore, this was when the rumors caught up to her.

Slut. Prostitute. Snob. Addict. Transvestite.

She heard them all as she quickly lost all her friends.

The redhead was heartbroken as she retreated back home that day; using the warp card which she unconsciously always took with her.

Shock and terror ran through her veins in place of what would have been adrenaline.

Was this really what life is outside her home?

The phone calls home became too much for her grandfather to bear. He withdrew her from the high school and resumed her private lessons and home schooling.

That night she had cried and cried until she fell asleep and dreamt a dream that would be repeated many nights after.

Alice saw herself; a mirror reflecting a more mature version of her that is. A glistening diadem was entangled in her hair and a dull silver gown trailed down to her knees. It looked like she was going to her own wedding or to a ball; excitement and happiness were reflected in her eyes for the event to come.

Just then, a figure—her memory failed her on how he looked like other than the dull blond hair he had, snuck up behind her and as she let herself be kissed by a voice near her neck area.

"I'll always be here if you need me, Alice."

She awoke with a start as a mask clattered on the ground. Her dream shattered with red, blue and black.

Alice Gehabich feared everything that reassembled him—herself. But if a mask was all it took to comfort her—a mask that forever remained cherished by her heart, a mask that forever was feared by her mind, a mask that which image can't be erased from her soul—if a mask was all it took to identify who she really was. Then why not?

Now to her; the brawlers were her friends; the people she could rely and trust on. They accepted her and understood her. They knew her and she knew them.

"Alice, we're going soon."

But why couldn't she come to tell everyone the _complete _truth? Why just a portion? Why put up a false façade?

"I'm coming, Hydranoid."

Because she didn't want to fall down the rabbit hole again.

**This chapter is set at around Bakugan NV episode… 26-ish? I know that I don't have the best grammar in the world so please review if you spot any grammatical errors. Love you!**


	2. Adolescence

**I've actually written the first chapter in early March so excuse the out dated AN! And I'm so very sorry about the late update; it's so hard to find time now that I've started studying, friends are having birthday parties and exams are coming up... I'M SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! **

**GUESS WHAT! CRACK PAIRING! HAH –happy face-**

**Quick thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited or story alerted my story so far! You guys give me so much more support than my little brother! You guys are AWESOME! Imaginary hugs and cookies to all of you~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything! Just my OCs.**

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_It's like you're reliving a distant memory—but you don't remember it at all. You're walking around in a dream-like trance and you feel like all of your actions are being judged. The words you speak are only a few—to lighten your sentence. The actions you make are small—so no one suspects you. The impact you have on other people is little to none—so no one could realize you're gone before it's too late._

_And then you find yourself falling—drowning, deeper and deeper under water. _

_Someone's dragging you down with them._

_It's too dark to see who but you can make out a faint smirk playing on their lips. His grip only tightens as he pulls you further down._

_Light breaks through the darkness of the water and you know that you're just _that _close to the surface._

_Close enough for hope's selfless arms to embrace you in lies._

_But what are the consequences? What do you have to sacrifice in order to prove your innocence?_

_It's not a memory- its real life. It's not a dream—it's something you would hope it really was. Life was the judge and you were the accused._

_You could plead guilty- but then you would be taking responsibility of something that wasn't entirely your fault. You could plead innocent but you would be putting the blame on someone else. You could leave the mystery unsolved but the real culprit would be long gone by the time you finally decide to solve it._

_You're submerged under water, ready to break through to the surface, but something—or someone could be blocking your way. It's an obstacle that you're not used to having. _

_You want to get rid of it but it isn't that easy._

_It'll stay there until you run out of air. It'll stay there until you give up, and just as that single thought breaks through your mind- the world turns upside down._

_The ray of light is then engulfed by darkness and your obstacle—the one who was drowning you, the one who was blocking your way, saves you from dying._

_Was there an ulterior motive? No. Did he just turn good for the sake of being good? No. Then why?_

_He leaves before you could ask that question; leaving you answerless and frustrated. _

_After all… Life was just __**that **__confusing._

Everything was morphing around her as the two girls got ready to brawl. The white room flashed and altered to a digital green. The ground shifted as tiles separated the two girls and the walls became the seats of that of a coliseum. It was everything that had anything to do with the word 'reminiscent' and just looking—observing her surrounding did it give her a painful surge of memories.

"Are you ready, Alice?" The blunette had called from across the field, too far to spot Alice's pained expression.

"Ready when you are, Runo!" The redhead had somehow managed to cry back.

Runo nodded and took out a gate card, the redhead did the same—grinning at each other as they both cried out in unison.

"Gate card set!" The cards glowed and flew out of their hands as they landed on opposite sides of the field.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Alice?" Hydranoid asked, an obvious hint of concern evident in his voice when another surge of pain crossed her face.

"Are you?" She joked and laughed softly as Runo threw down her guardian bakugan—Tigrerra.

"Stand Haos Blade Tigrerra!" The lioness roared in response as she changed and morphed into her true form; baring her claws at Alice down below her.

Alice almost jumped out of her skin when she glimpsed upon Tigrerra's full form for the first time in a brawl. Her hands were shaking beside her as Tigrerra started taking note of her surroundings and talking to her partner. Suddenly everything felt so new to her and she forgot where she was, what she was doing and who _she _was.

Alice's vision was fleeting as she tried her best not to gaze upon the blunette's guardian bakugan and concentrate on controlling her phobia.

"Are you ready, Alice?" The girl's heart did a back flip when the Darkus Bakugan's low raspy voice filled her senses and pulled her back to reality. Back to the battlefield. Back to herself.

The Russian stared at the Darkus Bakugan as if to remember that _he _was real and _he _was right there in front of her. Heaving a sigh, she nodded and Hydranoid retreated into his ball form as Alice's delicate fingers wrapped around him.

Ignoring the sickening twist in her stomach, she cried out

"Darkus Alpha Hydranoid, stand!"

The bakugan glowed a dark purple color before growing to its full size; a three headed dragon- scales, armored tail, wings, spiked chest and all…

Alice felt sick when she laid her eyes on Hydranoid's true form. Her eyes were wondering as serpentine eyes fixated at her form when he gave her a small wink and nod as if to encourage her to make the first move. The redhead felt a lump in her throat as she threw down an ability card.

If Alice was any other normal seventeen year old girl, she would've screamed and called the dragon ugly. But she didn't; she wasn't **normal**. she just stared back at her Guardian Bakugan and smiled.

But if she was smiling, then why was she shaking so violently? Why hadn't she feel intimidated when a giant three headed hydra towered above her?

Back when she was 14 and had first inherited Hydranoid from Masquerade, she was absolutely OK with the frightening bakugan. But now?

Now, instead of all the fun times talking to him and asking how her alter ego was like—all she could think about was her ex boyfriend and his so called 'trustworthy-ness' to her.

Did sharing the same body with a guy physically older than you by a year or so make you a transvestite? Did having sex with the same guy unwillingly for over a year make her a slut? Did taking drugs for only a full month make her a **real **addict?

Another wave of nausea surged through her stomach. Were rumors just lies or were they the sick twisted truth no one wanted to come face to face with?

"Alice! Your move!" the redhead nodded as she snapped back to the battle before her.

She observed the battlefield—she wasn't paying much attention and had let her own hands guide her moves as she was drowning in guilty thoughts. Tigrerra was nowhere on the battlefield and Runo had Haos Griffon against her Darkus Laserman which Alice had no memory of throwing down. Hydranoid was right beside her.

"This brawl is going rather good, Alice. You're doing great." He was saying, the girl just laughed nervously.

How would Hydranoid react when she told him that she wasn't even paying attention? She always knew that the Darkus Bakugan had secretly hoped that their original master would come back in some odd and unscientific way. What other answers would Hydranoid have during her immature what-if games?

"I-I'm scared, Hydranoid." She admitted suddenly as she stared at the brawl before her. "W-Who's winning?"

"It's a draw at the moment but if you play the right moves; it's your win." Tigrerra was probably telling Runo the same thing.

Alice bit her lip as she glanced at Runo, who had a determined look in her eyes and then back to the battlefield. She was shaking, and even though Hydranoid was comforting her—no voice registered into her mind.

She was alone in a bloody battlefield with a gun in her hands directed at an enemy soldier. Her finger was over the trigger. Would she pull it? Or would she spare an innocent life that was dragged into this chaotic lifelike herself?

"Alice! Make a move!" Runo encouraged her but it was just another General telling her to pull the trigger.

She swallowed as she stared at the screen of her bakupod; she had an advantage— Laserman had 20gs more than Griffon. She knew the right card to play in the back of her mind—Spice Slayer which transferred 100gs from the opponent to Laserman. But was she willing to play it?

Was she willing to pull the trigger?

Alice started shaking again; memories of the many bakugan her alter ego—Masquerade had sent to the Doom Dimension came flooding into her mind. What if she had unknowingly threw down a Doom Card? Did the card even still exist? Did she accidently send one of Runo's bakugan to the Doom Dimension? Did she turn into Masquerade during the brawl?

_**Who**__ was _she_?_

The enemy soldier she had put under gun point was muttering to her—begging her to end it all _now. _He was telling her of all the sins he committed—of all the lives he took, families he ruined, mistakes he's made. He stared back at her with bloodshot eyes and suddenly it was _Roy _in front of her. Her crazy, psycho ex.

She never would've shot the soldier—even if he was a fugitive of the law. But what if it was someone she hated, someone who ruined _her _life? What if it was Roy? Would she pull the trigger now?

Roy looked back at her with darting eyes—he was laughing that maniacal laugh of his; the laugh of a drugged teenager. A laugh that was beyond what Alice had wanted recognition for—something she didn't wanted to remember.

Her eyes started burning with memories now; silent tears started rolling down her cheeks as she started to reminiscence all the earlier moments with Roy. All the dates they went on, kisses they shared, jokes that would never go dull… she saw the fleeting moments of the past in the future fate gave her.

In the sleepless, bloodshot eyes of the soldier; she saw the young, innocent, _fun _Roy. And she couldn't take it anymore—couldn't stand how such a chaste smile could turn into a sinful smirk.

"I-I- I CAN'T DO THIS!" She wailed as the gun—the card clattered to the ground beside her as she cradled her head in her hands hugging her knees. This was far beyond what she wanted to happen.

She had hoped that she would have a friendly brawl with Runo—uninterrupted and free of her past mistakes. She had hoped that she would forget her fear of brawling—forget the sins her very hands had committed just by brawling—she had wanted to have _fun _brawling_._

And here she was—slowly drowning herself in guilt and sobs.

"A-Alice!" Runo cried out in surprise as she watched the older girl dissolve in tears.

The digital coliseum was morphing back to the deathly white room the two girls were first in but Alice didn't seem to notice as she continued to sob her guilty tears.

"Alice! Don't cry! It's alright!" Hydranoid comforted her— which was followed by nervous attempts of trying to stop the girl from crying. Runo had quickly ran over to her side and Julie's voice screeched into the intercom.

But before anyone could make contact with her—before she even had the chance to teleport away… before she could find her quiet place…

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around Alice and pushed her towards their chest in a brotherly manner. Alice didn't have time to be surprised—she was too busy trying to free herself from the person's grasp. She pushed and kicked but the person still embraced her.

"Let me go!" She screamed as she rapidly hit the person on the chest.

"You did great, there's no need to be scared; it's alright being afraid." The person whispered. It was a new voice to her but it still held a hint of nostalgia in it.

And then behind her eyes, she was in the arms of Roy having a picnic by the lakeside; an unforgettable moment of her life that she had cried her heart out for the first time ever—endless rants and tantrums about nothing did she sprout to Roy. A beautiful memory that she had wanted to drag on forever.

And that was all that ever mattered then.

That she was in the arms of someone who understood her for who she was at the moment…

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**Here you are! A whooping 5 pages and over two thousand words! I hoped you really enjoyed it! You CANNOT believe how many drafts that I threw out for this chapter! **

**There are some words that slip my mind while I was editing this chapter (which honestly I don't do a lot); one of them is 'ulterior motive'. I KNOW it's not the right words I'm using there so can anyone help me? What do you call it when someone has another motive?**

**There are also WHOLE bunches of grammar mistakes which I overlooked so please keep an eye out for those and tell me where you spot them!**

**Review~**


	3. Variance

… **because truthfully, I'm only going to use random words as chapter titles anyways. **and not because variance has VARIA in it.

**Wow, I can't believe it's been over a year since I last updated this story! Sorry guys, I've fangirling over my new fandom for far too long! So yeah… I truly am sorry!**

**I would just like to tell you guys that the romance is slow developing and that this story (if I hadn't said it before) will be a harem with Alice centered in the middle. Also, it's AU because I'm too lazy to rewatch bakugan and get my facts straight; so I'm changing up somethings.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything!**

* * *

Alice woke up in a room; a thin blanket was tossed over top her frail body and something cold rested on her forehead. Her eyes were heavy for sleep, yet her senses craved for adventure. She daftly scanned her surroundings and realized that _this _wasn't her room.

Judging by the sunlight seeping through the curtains, the Russian girl judged that it was still early morning, the light sound of meadowlarks chirping helped reinforce her statement. Clothes were tossed around in a way that it wasn't messy but still not organized. She panicked when the thought that she might possibly be in Roy's room entered her mind.

_Calm down, Alice…._ She tried to calm herself down, the light sound of moving fabric in the corner of the room went unnoticed by her, _he's in still Russia… _you're _in Wardington now…._

She jolted upright just as someone came up to check on her; resulting on the two banging their foreheads against one another. She fell back onto the bed as the second person hissed and cussed quietly, the cold towel that was on her forehead before fell onto her eyes as she stayed still and winced at the pain.

"Owww..." the other person groaned, his voice deep and one she never heard before, "even Mira isn't this cranky in the morning."

Hesitantly, she lifted the towel off her eyes and stared at the person still hovering over top of her. He had dirty blond hair, spiked in every way reminiscent to…

_(don't say his name, Alice. Don't say his name.)_

But even with _that_, he wasn't familiar. He had bangs, his jaw line was more definite and he was wearing a gray shirt. He was covering his face with a large hand but Alice couldn't help but place the face of an ex-red villain on it. It was strange.

_Mira…. _His words finally reached her and she took a moment to figure out just why that name sounded _so _familiar to her.

_(the memory of a spiky red-headed girl handing her a gauntlet flashed in her mind's eye and she still wondered.)_

She was too caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that the other boy in the room had stopped complaining and had placed a warm hand on her forehead. "you still have a fever…" he was muttering, quietly and almost… _grimly_?

He took the cold cloth and walked off to somewhere Alice couldn't see, she heard the tap turn on and she guessed it was the washroom offhandedly. Tiredly, her eyes scanned the room once again, landing on a dark _something _on his desk.

She squinted, trying to get a better look of it; the edges were sharp, it looked almost like a head band and an eagle's beak combined, it was framed so that it could fit perfectly on someone's face…

_face?_

The realization hit her then as she let out a loud blood curling scream. A mask. It was a mask. How could she not notice it before? It was _right there_!

The person from before ran out from wherever he was hiding before and quickly looked around, as if searching for an intruder or something. His eyes landed on her silently, "what happened?" he asked. Alice let out another scream.

Maybe he didn't notice but the way the light seeped into the room made him look like _him_. She knew he wasn't wearing the mask; that part was for sure. The shadows had completely covered his face and all she saw was his body; a bittersweet memory that she really didn't want to remember. She was scared, more scared than she ever felt before. Not even the summer she spent with Roy was this scary. Not even the drug lords, gangs and every other dark thing could compare to how frightening this was.

Maybe it was because death was in her face every day, maybe it was because she had been to the _Doom Dimension _more than once, or maybe it was just because she had been the emblem of _Fear _in her days of …

_(don't say it, don't say it.)_

She retreated further into the bed until her back was against the wall as the boy walked closer and closer to her. Curling up in the blankets as if it were a suit of armor, "stay away…" she meekly whispered, tears free falling from her eyes, "go away..."

The other boy didn't pay heed to her words and only walked closer towards her. He was saying something but the redhead was too scared to hear it.

She was sobbing like crazy by the time he finally reached the bed, her face was buried in the blanket so even though she could, she chose not to look at him. She knew he was leaning on the bed in an awkward position to reach her but the fears were too much for her to handle. "M-masquerade?" she found herself choking out; she couldn't imagine how much of a mess she looked like right now. "S-stay away…"

She heard him sigh as he crawled on the bed and sat down beside her, "you're delusional, Alice… really delusional."

Alice only whimpered in response as she tried her best to think of something to say, the only thing that escaped her throat were chokes and sobs. The other boy noticed this and silently, in a way not to startle her, placed a hand over her eyes and lightly pushed her so that she was leaning against him, "you need to rest some more, Alice."

She let out the one last whimper before she let the sound of the boy's soft voice lull her to sleep.

* * *

When Alice woke up again, it was to the sound of her partner's grim voice and not to the realization that she was somewhere else. The smell of fresh breakfast embraced the air as Alice sat upright in a trance.

"Alice! You're awake, what happened?" Hydranoid asked in that worried voice of his. Sometimes she wondered if he worried for his old master's sake and not hers. "You fainted and that insufferable boy—"

"I'm alright, Hydra. Don't worry." She cut in, tossing the blankets aside and examining the room once again. She was still in that room she found herself in the first time she woke up, but this time she wasn't as scared. Hydranoid would protect her, she knew that for sure. He was, after all, pretty scary. For a Bakugan in its ball form that is…

"The blue headed girl dropped by earlier to give you breakfast," he was saying, levitating in the air and floating over to where the fresh plate of French toast was. "Actually… you just missed her."

The redhead only sighed happily, now wide awake, as she got up and walked over to where the desk was. The mask wasn't there anymore, to her relief, and she wondered if maybe it was her imagination playing tricks on her again.

"Keith left a while before the girl came, so as to give you some privacy. He looked a bit worried," the Darkus dragon was saying, "I heard you scream earlier, what happened?"

_I… screamed? _The thought took a moment to process until she realized that _yes, _she did scream. She lied through clenched teeth and quietly finished her breakfast.

"The girl said to go to the garden when you finish your breakfast, she said they're having a party or something…" the Darkus Bakugan sounded annoyed for some reason, but then again Hydranoid was always anti-social after all.

"Want to go now then?" She asked as she got up from the chair and walked over to the door. She noticed that the place got a lot more cleaner since she first woke up.

"Not until you change first." Alice examined herself as he said this and almost screamed. How come she didn't notice this when she first woke up? Oh… this was embarrassing…

She was wearing a shirt; just a shirt. A guy's shirt, one that reached all the way to her knees and then some. Her own clothes were sprawled on the ground beside the bed in a fashion that _whoever _changed her just threw them there lazily. An image popped in her mind and in the back of her mind, she wondered if it was _Keith _who changed her.

_(In the inner reaches of her mind, a small part of her consciousness cried tears of disdain and laughter.)_

"Don't worry; the silver haired girl helped you change. Pigtails gave you a dress to change into when you woke up; it's hanging in the closet." _Julie and Runo_. Alice breathed a sigh of relief and strolled over to the closet.

It was a nice dress, a-line and formfitting and all that. An adorable little summer dress with just the right amount of laces that spoke out for itself. It was in a pink-beige color and looked as if it was made just for her. She guessed Julie picked it out; then the reality of that thought began to sink in and Alice had to quickly clear her mind and change before Hydranoid started to wonder what was taking too long.

If Julie had picked it out, it was probably custom-made, and with the help of Marucho's tailors; the price tag would've been _big_. The light weight and comfortable material didn't help to simmer down her worries.

Thankfully for her, Hydranoid dragged her off before her worries completely consumed her.

* * *

"Alice! You're awake!" with a cry and cheerful shriek, the girl toppled over as two of her two closest friends attacked her from… wherever they came from. Alice fell onto the cold stony pathway as Runo and Julie clung onto her neck and waist as if they were trying to anchor her to the ground, they were going on and on about her physical health and apologies about dragging her out to brawl that the poor Russian girl had quite a hard time keeping up with them. After a little while of telling them that _no, don't worry, I'm fine _and _it's not your fault, I wanted to try brawling again anyways, _they finally got off of her and helped dust off her dress.

Upon inspection, Julie had declared that Alice looked _gorgeous _and offered to drag her back inside and help do her makeup. An offer that Alice just _had _to refuse, Runo backed her up and promptly said that there were people that were dying to meet her in the patio and set off. Alice and Julie in tow.

Marucho's patio was more of a terrace garden located at the other side of the actual _garden _garden. It was beautiful—complete with a winding stony staircase that led down from the veranda to a beautiful lake. Complete with a fountain right smack in the middle of it. Even today; Alice still wondered how the heck they could have such a beautiful place and call it the _patio_. But then again, Marucho _does _call his pet whale 'just another domestic fish'. Alice brushed it off as a billionaire thing.

"Hey… are you sure you're really ok, Alice?" Runo asked curiously as they made their way through the rose maze; a small shortcut the girls had found when they got lost looking for Dan and them when the Battle Brawlers were _just _the six of them and _(don't say his name, don't say his name) _was still the villain. It brought back so many memories, Alice had almost forgotten how beautiful mere fragile plants can be up until this point. She's been living in a Winter Wonderland and holed up inside for far too long that the thought of seeing morning dew glistening off the petals of Marucho's chrysanthemums seemed like a foreign thing to her. Seeing trees all day was one thing, smelling the fresh scent of an afternoon rain fall was another but nothing can beat the sight of the gardens here. Kato really did take good care of the plants.

"I am, I just didn't get enough sleep before that, that's all," Alice laughed nervously as she scratched the back of her head, trying to push aside all the thoughts of the enemy soldier and the gun. Her face stayed that of an innocent teenager, healthy and without worries, never betraying the inner battle she was fighting in her mind.

Runo and Julie only stared at her worriedly before changing the topic. With Alice, it was best not to provoke her, they've known her long enough to know that, if there was something she needed to tell, then she would spill. She was shy that way, but they knew she meant well.

Alice never realized just how much time had passed since she had last seen her team-mates. Maybe a year? Maybe two? She couldn't tell. All she knew that during those lost months; they moved on without her. Whether it be hobbies, interests or their circle of friends in general, they moved on. The Russian girl found herself wondering who this _Daphne _girl that Julie hated was or how _JJ Doll_'s new song sounded. They went on about things she never even heard of—like the new Bpad or the new B4 phone that _Banana _released. Up until now, she only just heard of who the new teen sensation _Alister Bayber_ was, only to found out that he was so _'last year'_. It was amazing how many things she missed during her high school year… she decided not to say anything on it though, pretending that _yes, Julie. His abs _are _sexy_.

After what seemed like hours walking around in the maze, they finally found their way to the patio where Runo jump-tackled Dan and Julie started to giggle nonstop. Alice watched in amusement as Dan let out the most undignified scream ever and everyone who was sitting down stood up cautiously as if they were being attacked. As Dan tried to pry his girlfriend off of him only to spill orange juice all over himself and Runo, Alice found herself laughing madly. Somewhere in back of her mind, she was glad that the self proclaimed leader of the Brawlers still hadn't change on bit since they first met.

Alice never really noticed the other people sitting at the table until Runo and Dan had calmed down. She had been laughing, having way too much fun watching the two lovebirds quarrel it out in their cute I-love-you-jerkface kind of way, that she didn't realize that everyone was looking at her strangely.

To be honest, ever since Dan came back from New Vestroia, she had only officially met one person from the resistance—Mira. The rest she had heard from briefly, but no one really bothered telling her more than the basic _Oh, he's the new addiction to the team—a natural born subterra brawler. Don't worry, he won't beat you up, he's harmless unless provoked. _So naturally they never heard—well, what about _seen _Alice until now.

_(no one can escape Baron's wrath when he's in fan boy-mode after all. Sadly when one person suffers in the Resistance, everyone suffers…)_

It wasn't until Julie stopped giggling and Marucho had introduced her to everyone that she really did notice them.

She remembered seeing most of them when Lync had sent that memory chip to her but it wasn't like she paid much attention to the new addiction of members that time anyways, she was too upset with the lost of the pink haired Vexos to even notice.

Ace Grit was quite handsome, if Alice had to admit; not like she was interested though, she knew he had a crush on Mira. He had blue-green hair and was a Darkus brawler, just like her. He was partnered with Percival. Baron Leltoy was probably the only thirteen year old who actually looked pretty normal with tanned muscles and pink hair. From what Runo had told her, he was a Haos brawler and a fan boy. He was partnered with Nemus.

She was amazed that somehow Dan had made friends with the Vexos as well; Gus Grav, who Alice recognized as the blue haired _dog _who assisted the other mask villain kidnap Runo, sat quietly talking to Mira. He didn't brawl anymore apparently, but from what she knew, he was a subterra brawler. The last guy Marucho introduced her to shocked her the most.

Keith Clay. The ex-leader of the Vexos. Spectra.

"Ahh, Alice! I'm glad you're awake, you're not still running a fever are you?"

… the guy who _helped _her?


	4. Impracticability

**Saved: May-08-11 10:44:04 PM**

**You guys have my permission to kill me now, hahah. So since I've hit a freaking writer's block writing Sky Drive, I decided to update this story because I actually really like the plot. And since I keep doing this, you guys should know that my bakugan stories will be updated randomly but just note that it'll probably only be this one since it's my favorite.**

**I realize that I tend to do better when I finish a whole chapter in one day... which probably explained my crazy sleeping schedule during the break haha. I'm such a loser...**

**I kind of want to add Anubias and Ren into Alice's harem but with the timeline as messed up as it is, I changed my mind. Haha, maybe next time...**

* * *

It wasn't like she didn't like him, because her feelings towards a guy she hardly even knew but was still scared of was far from the typical dislike.

It was more of a one-sided mutual understanding; one that he didn't know existed. She had heard his story from Runo one day on the phone, that he was Mira's brother and that he was trying to free the bakugan in a sick twisted way that could easily be misinterpreted. At first, she couldn't find herself to pity the guy- she hated him for what he did, for what she thought was cowardice. But then one day, after a small offhand comment made by her ex while he was still her prince charming, she slowly began to understand the actions of the Pyrus brawler. Almost trusting the very mention of his name every time it was mentioned. _Spectra's doing the right thing_, she would think, _he knows what he's doing._

She thought this way until she remembered that he too was a masked villain, shrouded in red cloth and black feathers. He became terrifying then; becoming an extra character to fuel her nightmares.

She didn't know what to think as she shook the hand of the now mask-less antihero, "I... I'm fine. Thank you for earlier."

Alice watched as a small smile stretched his dry lips, curiously noting despite herself that Keith Clay was quite cute if you dodged past the fact that he used to be evil _(just like her)._ His tanned skin and cool gaze only seemed to emphasize this fact, "That's a relief, if you don't mind I would like a-"

"Alice! Look!" The girl whipped around, searching around for whatever Julie wanted to show her when a sudden flash beamed at her. She pouted a bit after her honey brown eyes readjusted to the light, staring at the camera the silverette had in her hands.

"Julie, you-"

"Oh my gosh, you guys look so cute together!" Alice cringed at the sudden high velocity squeal coming out from her best friend, "I am so going to print these out now."

That caught her by surprise, and before she knew it, Alice found herself chasing after the silver haired girl around the garden as she waved the camera high above her head, yelling absurdities. Alice was too red to realize that the two of them looked like little kids then.

A few hours later, the teens found themselves seated on the ground watching a random movie that they picked out earlier. The girls on an air mattress that Dan had politely offered to blow for them and the boys sprawled around the ground eating popcorn. No one was actually watching it, they just left it on to make it seem like they were honestly having some bonding time when really they just wanted to move somewhere warmer to watch Dan and Baron wrestle against each other.

It was well into the night when Alice decided she couldn't sleep, the air mattress was huge; but she couldn't help but feel squished between Mira and Runo. The redhead frowned a bit as she wiped a stream of sweat from her forehead when she noticed that she wasn't the only one awake.

Honestly, it was quite a funny scene to come upon but she couldn't feel horrified all the same.

"Ace? Why are you trying to... kiss Shun?" The two boys paled and turned to look at her in disbelief, still frozen in their previous position. The ninja was trying to push the darkus brawler away while the vestal tried to come onto him, all the while making kissy noises. Someone snorted in the background and another person began to giggle.

"Uh... Alice? I can-" He never got to finish because Ace took the chance to peck him on the lips before making a disgusted face, muttering something about how he'll never choose dare again before returning to his spot. Shun was turning green.

The girl was already slipping out from between the two girls when Julie called her over to sit beside her on the ground, her face red as she said in a mix of accents, "we're playing drinking games, par'ner! Come join us, Alice. Right now we're playing Dare or Double drink."

_That had got to be the lamest game I've ever heard,_ she thought to herself as she sat down beside her on the cold ground. She took the time to observe everyone who was still awake; Gus was lying on Julie's lap, looking sort of lost, beside him was Shun and Ace, both of which were turning red- either from the alcohol or being caught doing the previous dare. Keith was smirking at all of them, looking as sober as day as he held an empty beer bottle.

"Since Alice woke up, let's play another game. All dares are over now," he whispered. Alice watched curiously from the corner of her eye as Gus sighed and got up from Julie's lap, his face turning redder as she giggled and ruffled his hair, murmuring something about how she'll miss her puppy dog "what should we play now?"

"Ooh! What about strip poker?"

"No!" Alice slapped a hand over her mouth almost immediately, looking around to make sure she didn't wake anyone up.

"What about we... sing Disney songs?" Alice stared at Ace curiously, his face was beet red and he had a dazed look on his face. Was he really that drunk?

Nonetheless, somehow the six of them all ended up singing various different Disney songs, all the while taking huge gulps of alcohol when they had to take a breath. Alice didn't know how it happened or how it was even possible but by the time they started singing 'I'll Make a Man Out of You', everyone but her and Keith had passed out. It was well over five am and the two of them were sitting face to face with huge smiles plastered onto their face as they sang in hushed voices prancing around the passed out bodies of their teammates- she noted that they seemed to hover over Dan's sleeping form the longest, "...with all the strength of a raging fire; mysterious as the dark side of the moon."

The candle that they were using was slowly beginning to die out, melting into pools of wax in its container when they finally stopped singing and laid down on the cold floor opposite of each other. Her senses were too dazed to even think to realize that she was seeing _him_ instead of him. The mask had magically reappeared on his face and he was staring back at her with a scowl, her head span and she didn't even think twice when she started giggling, "I played Meg in high school..."

"Oh, really?"

"Roy played Herc... hhahahh, he missed uuuuppppp wooonceee" she was one drink too many from passing out, and Keith could only smile as he watched the redhead roll around the ground childishly as she slurred out each syllable like a song.

The older boy was sort of tipsy, which was a feat because he had made sure to grab the weakest alcohol he could find in Marucho's wine cellar. Unlike Alice who looked like she was drunk out of her mind for the first time (it wasn't but he didn't know that), he was fully aware of his surroundings- and if the girl didn't pull up her shirt anytime soon, he'll probably lose himself.

"Alice."

"We haaad a fuun time siiinginggg..."

"Alice..."

"wee daancedd..."

"Alice!"

"Mhmmm... talk more, I like your voice..." he sat up, surprised at her sudden comment. It was barely a whisper, not like it mattered since it made the Pyrus brawler blush like mad. He didn't even realize how close she was until she rolled over a little too fast and her head crashed into his knee. She was staring at him with half lidded eyes when he finally managed to calm himself down.

Even before the two met, he wondered what kind of person she was. When Keith Clay was still Spectra Phantom, he always wondered how such a soft spoken girl like her got hold of Darkus Alpha Hydranoid- who was said to have been the Guardian Bakugan of the strongest player on Earth, Masquerade. It was immature, but he used to fall asleep thinking about it, making up numerous different situations in his head of how the two of them could be involved with each other. Maybe they were lovers, or lost siblings. Maybe they became friends, maybe she broke him down.

Ever since he brought her back and she fainted, he's been dying to ask her what her involvement with the battle brawlers and Masquerade was. In Vestal, they barely had any information on the brawlers other than them being legendary in their realm. Masquerade disappearing and his guardian bakugan turning into Alice's always did irk him. It was like an old legend, an old myth that was lost in translation. Like a different version of a story. And he really wanted to know the truth.

"Mmm..." he snapped out of his thoughts when he felt something touch his face, letting out a loud gasp when he realized it was the redhead who had somehow gotten up and was trailing her cold fingers along his cheekbone, a look of childish wonder on her face."Your mask is beautiful"

He was shocked when he heard that, Runo had warned him earlier after the little scenario in the morning to make sure that she was well away from any masks- from his mask. He was told that she had a sort of traumatic experience with them and that the girl was broken. It was another thing he wanted to ask the girl about, it was killing him. It didn't take a genius to figure out the connection. Why was she so scared of masks if she was involved with one such villain who wore one in the first place? What was the relationship? It was killing him and he didn't know what to do but gap like a fish at her words.

"I... I'm not wearing one." It was then that he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks; the dimming candlelight didn't do much but illuminate her soft features as she smiled sadly at him.

"It makes me think of... him"

Alice didn't say anything after that as the candle finally died out and she sprawled herself onto his lap. She giggled a bit at the frozen look of wonder on his face as she blacked out in his warmth.

* * *

She was being pulled down; her attempts to free herself of her chains of blue and black were useless as the hands that grabbed onto her grew more and more agitated.

Her throat refused to scream for help, a pair of angry lips covered hers in a mess of wet sloppy kisses. She'd cry, she'd sob but it'll fall into silence as her restraints would tighten angrily.

She could borrow all the words she wanted but it would never compare to the pain, to the horror that the memory gave her. Not until the assault stopped and she found herself being yanked up.

And Alice awoke with a shock.

The room was a chaos; the guys were all sprawled out on the ground in random and embarrassing positions while the girls who weren't up playing drinking games were sleeping soundly like little angels. It was too early for her to feel sick, or maybe she already was but was too tired to realize it.

She shook her head lightly as she shifted into a new position and couldn't believe her eyes.

There was a mask.

A mask.

Maybe she was too tired to care because her chest began to loosen at the sight of it and she let herself sink deeper into the pillow in pure bless.

The nightmares always seemed to suffocate her every time she woke up, and somehow the mask gave her some sort of strange comfort when she noticed it.

She fell asleep smiling, without noticing that the owner was still fully awake and was beet red.

* * *

**This chapter is pure crack. Crack I tell you- Oh gosh, what have I done? Well anyways, I hope you guys like it because I have no idea what I have just written. I hope it isn't too rushed...**

**Review!**


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